"Ken, where are you going?" Mrs. Ichijouji questioned.
"The pizza place for…Pizza!" Ken laughed.
"Ok, I would like you home before dark," she smiled.
"I know, I will be home," he lightly smiled.
Ken, Yolei, T.K., Davis, and Cody walked out the front door. I walked behind them.
Mrs. Ichijouji stopped me.
"Kari, what was going on in Ken's room? I know he won't tell me," she frowned.
I hesitated.
I looked at Ken's mom, I could see that she was worried.
"Just a little fight, but it's fine now. I promise, I wouldn't let anything bad happen to any of my friends," I smiled.
"Oh dear, thank you Kari. I haven't seen Ken so happy. Once he met you and your friends, he was so happy, and now that Ken has Jordan, it is just amazing how much he smiles. He hasn't been so happy, not since Sam dies," Mrs. Ichijouji calmly said.
"No problem," I said.
The door quickly opened.
"Kari, hurry up!" Ken laughed as he took my hand.
"Ken," Mrs. Ichijouji looked at her son's hand. "You already have a girlfriend."
I started to turn bright red.
"And Kari has a boyfriend," she added.
"Mom! I'm taking her hand so she-" Ken started to explain.
"Um, Ken, you still need to learn to understand when someone is joking around," I hinted.
"Huh? Oh! Bye Mom!" Ken started to blush as he pulled me out the door.
"Bye Mrs. Ichijouji!" I laughed as I left.
"That is where Jordan lives? She lives in a mansion!" Davis exclaimed when we got to the house.
Ken laughed as he rang the doorbell.
Jordan opened the door. "Hey Ken!"
"Have you eaten yet?" Ken quickly asked.
"Um…No…Why?" Jordan was confused.
"Come on," he smiled.
"Where?" she demanded.
"Next door!"
"The pizza place? Ok!"
We quickly left Jordan's house, and walked to the pizza place.
"I haven't seen you guys around this place. Do you not visit Ken?" Jordan asked after we ordered.
"He usually comes to us, today he wanted us to come to him," I explained.
"I thought they should get to know my neighborhood. Why should I always have to go to theirs?" Ken laughed.
"Or he just ran out of money," Davis joked.
"Ken probably did. But enough about him, how have you guys been?" Jordan asked.
T.K., Yolei, Davis, and I hesitated.
"We've been pretty good! I know I've been doing much better. Of course we have hard times once in a while, but we get over it. You know what I mean?" Cody smiled.
"Yeah…How was school?" Jordan questioned.
"Oh! It was real fun! For me anyways. High school was better than I thought it was going to be," Yolei laughed.
"My day wasn't that bad. I thought my teacher was going to be mean, but he wasn't," Cody said.
"What about you guys?" Jordan looked at T.K., Davis, and me.
"Our teacher hates us, we made a new friend, we already have detention, and our teacher thought T.K. and I were going out," I quickly said.
"Detention? For what?" she wondered.
"I was running in the hallway," T.K. grinned.
"I was giving the teacher an attitude," I laughed.
"She never told me why I got detention," Davis moaned.
"For talking when the teacher was talking," I smiled.
"Sounds like you guys had fun," Jordan snickered.
"Yeah, real fun, nothing like getting detention on the first day of school," T.K. mumbled.
"How have you been Jordan? I know we haven't really kept in touch with you," I said.
"I've been ok," Jordan softly said.
The pizza was placed on our table.
"Thank you," Ken smiled at the waiter.
"So, you've just been ok?" Yolei asked Jordan.
"I've been a little worried," she frowned.
"Why?" Yolei demanded.
"My brother left for America a few days ago, he promised me he would call me when he got there. I'm still waiting for his call. I'm scared that he, well…I think you know what I mean," Jordan explained.
"I haven't heard of any plane crashes, maybe he just forgot to call. Did you ever try calling him?" Davis questioned.
"He doesn't have a cell phone," she frowned.
"Where was he going?" Cody wondered.
"New York, he was going to visit an old friend of his," she said.
"What is your brother's name and who is his friend?" I quickly asked.
"Sean, and his friend is a girl named Hanna," Jordan gave me a puzzled look.
Ken's eyes lit up. "Willis!"
"Huh?"
"Willis is our friend who lives in America…His girlfriend's name is Hanna, and he lives in New York," I started to laugh.
"We can give him a call, he will tell us," Yolei said.
"Maybe he e-mailed me back, I asked him about Hanna," I told them.
"We can go to my house. Kari, you can check your e-mails, and Davis, you can give Willis a call," Jordan decided.
"Hold on! Why do I have to call him?" Davis questioned.
"If you don't, I'll tell Jordan what you called her," I whispered to Davis.
"Right, I'm Willis's best friend. Stupid question!" he laughed.
We ran to Jordan's house, then quickly went to her room.
"Ok, Kari, the computer is on the desk, and here is the phone for Davis," Jordan handed the phone to Davis. He left the room.
I walked over to the desk where the computer was and sat down. I opened my e-mails.
"I got mail from Willis!" I smiled.
Dear Kari,
Everything is going great here! I don't get to spend time with Hanna this week because her friend, Sean, is here to visit her. Of course, I'm ok with that. I'm trying to plan another trip to Japan in the winter…That would be fun! So, you need to tell me what's going on with you. Your last e-mail was short and not very detailed. Please fill me in!
Love, Willis
"Sean is there!" I smiled.
"That's great, now I can enjoy him being gone. You can e-mail your friend back," Jordan told me.
I nodded my head.
Dear Willis,
I have a lot more to tell you this time. Sean is Jordan's (Ken's girlfriend's) brother. That isn't what I really need to tell you. I'll start with me. The Dark World is back, the cuts, everything! Davis and I got in this terrible fight today. Ken and Davis also got in a fight. We met this girl name Al, she's really cool. T.K. told Yolei that she could break up with him. He doesn't think she wants him anymore. I'm scared Willis. T.K. and Al have a lot in common, I'm scared that T.K.'s going to start thinking she's attractive. I can't see another person in our group go through a break up. You know what happened to me when Izzy and Mimi broke up for that period of time…I don't think I can go through that again. Willis, I hope you're having a better start to your school year. I've got detention already with T.K. and Davis. What else is going to happen? I'm scared Willis, I'm really scared.
Love, Kari
"Kari," Davis opened the door to Jordan's room. "Willis wants to talk to you."
I pulled the phone from his hand and left the room.
"Willis?" I questioned him.
"Hey Kari," Willis said in a scared voice.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I'm reading your e-mail. I'm starting to wish I didn't ask for more details," he told me.
I walked outside.
"It's terrible Willis. Nothing is going right this year," I said.
"What happened with Davis?" Willis demanded.
"We got in a fight."
"About what?"
"He called Jordan some nasty things."
"What's going on with T.K. and Yolei?"
"I'm not that sure. T.K. gave Yolei a note telling her that she could break up with him. I talked to T.K. about it. He thinks Yolei doesn't want him anymore, that she wants someone in her own school."
"Who's Al?"
"Al is this girl who just moved here. She lives with her mom and she has a brother who lives with her dad. Al and her mom just moved her to the place where her brother lives."
"That sounds just like T.K.!"
"But T.K. and Matt are only half brothers. Matt and T.K. have the same mom, but different dads. I wonder where T.K.'s dad is."
"Kari! Stay on the subject! So, I'm planning on coming to Japan in the winter. I better get going."
"Ok, it was nice talking to you Willis. I really miss you."
"I miss you too. I'll talk to you again."
"Bye."
"Bye Kari," Willis softly said as I heard a click. He hung up.
I walked back inside. I went to Jordan's room.
I walked over to Davis.
"How is Willis doing?" Ken asked me.
"He's doing good…I think. I really didn't ask him," I smiled.
"He's a little sad because he can't spend time with Hanna this week," Davis jumped in.
"That would be my little brother's fault," Jordan laughed.
"We better get going guys…I still haven't been home, and I have to tell my mom about the whole detention thing," T.K. decided.
"I almost forgot about that," Davis frowned.
"I still find that funny. I have to get home myself. I have be home before dark," Ken smiled.
Yolei walked over to the door. "We better get going guys. The sub that we need to catch leaves in 20 minutes."
"Yeah, I'm going to be in enough trouble with the detention, I don't want to be late!" I laughed.
We walked to the subway station.
We walked up to where we get our tickets. Yolei, Davis, and Cody quickly got their tickets and got out of the way.
T.K. jumped in front of me and placed his money in the machine. I had my own money in my hand.
"Put it away," T.K. told me.
"I need a ticket," I told him.
T.K. turned and smiled. "My treat…You bought me one, now I got to buy you a ticket."
"You didn't have to," I shook my head.
He held out the ticket. I snatched it from his hand.
"T.K., Kari! Hurry up! The sub is about to leave!" Cody yelled as he got on.
T.K. and I quickly ran up, but we didn't run fast enough. The doors closed on Cody's face and the sub left without us.
"Now I'm going to be late for sure!" I moaned.
"Come on, you can call your mom on that pay phone," T.K. decided.
I walked over to the phone and shoved my money in. I quickly dialed the number.
"Hello?" Tai answered the phone.
"Hey Tai…It's Kari," I nervously said.
"Kari? Where are you?" he quickly asked.
"I'm at the subway station."
"Get home, you know Mom doesn't like it when you get home late."
"I'm at the subway station by Ken's."
"Kari! I'll tell Mom, but she's going to be mad."
"I missed the first sub, but I'm here with T.K.; could you call his mom and tell her where he's at?"
"Fine! Just get home soon," Tai hung up the phone.
I turned to T.K. "He'll call your mom."
"Ok," T.K. smiled.
"We have an hour until the next sub comes, lets go sit down," I decided.
T.K. nodded his head, and we walked over to a bench and sat down.
"T.K.," I softly said.
"Yeah?" T.K. looked confused.
"I have a question," I nervously smiled.
"What is it?" he was sounding nervous.
I looked away. "You and Matt our only half brothers…You have the same mom. That means you should have a different dad. If that's true…Who's your dad?"
"I never thought any one would ever ask me that," T.K. mumbled.
"I was just wondering," I whispered. I still had my head turned away.
T.K. moved my head to look at him. "I don't know my dad. My mom has been looking for him for a long time. She told me that he really won't know about me because he went on a business trip before I was born. My mom also said that his work got moved to America, and she didn't want to move there so she decided to stay in Japan and raise me herself. I just try to pretend that I don't have a dad, but I've always wondered what he's like. I really want to know him, but I'm scared that if my mom does find him, we'll have to moved to America…I don't want that."
"That would be great if you could find you father, but terrible if you had to move," I frowned.
"I've only moved two times, one when my mom got back together with Matt's dad and left him, and then when I moved to where I live now," T.K. explained.
I started to look in my backpack.
"What are you doing?" T.K. asked me.
I looked up. "Give me a second." I started to look in my bag again. I grabbed a little bag.
"What's that?" he questioned me.
"Be patient!" I laughed. I took a picture out of the bag. "Here…You deserve this more than I do." I handed T.K. the picture.
He quickly snatched it from my hand. He stared at it. "Where did you get this?"
"Your mom gave it to me a few years ago," I softly responded.
"I've never seen this picture before. It's Matt and me…It was taken a long time ago. Why did my mom give the picture to you?" T.K. questioned.
"It was before you moved here…She mailed it to me," I remembered.
T.K. frowned. "I guess she didn't want any pictures with Matt in them."
"Come on T.K., the sub will be coming in a minute," I stood up.
"Right."
We slowly walked to where the sub stopped.
The sub stopped in front of us. We jumped on and handed the driver our tickets. T.K. found us seats, and we quickly sat down.
"Well…This day could have been better," T.K. smiled.
"Detention, missing a sub, our teacher doesn't like us…What else could possibly go wrong?" I closed my eyes.
"Yolei and I," he reminded me.
I quickly opened my eyes. "Is it that bad?"
"I just don't know anymore. Yolei has been confusing…And I don't think I'm helping her," T.K. frowned and looked away.
"It will get better," I softly said.
"Or it will get worse."
"You're sounding like me a year ago."
"Sorry."
The sub stopped.
"T.K., lets go," I stood up and walked towards the doors. T.K. was following me.
I slowly walked out of the subway station.
"I'll walk you home," I told T.K.
"What?" he questioned.
"I said, I'll walk you home," I repeated.
"You don't need to."
"But, I want to."
"Who will walk you home?"
I took T.K.'s hand. "I'll manage to get there on my own."
"But Kari, you'll get home even later."
"I don't care."
"I'll be fine Kari."
"I don't think you will!" I blurted out.
"What?" T.K. questioned.
"I'm scared that you're going to do something stupid, and I don't want anything to happen to you. I'm just really scared; I just didn't want to admit it," I let go of T.K.'s hand and looked away.
T.K. grabbed my hand. "I'm just as scared."
I could say anything.
"But I promise you, I won't do anything stupid. Nothing bad is going to happen to me…Nothing dangerous anyways. I know something bad has happened, and it's all my fault because I wrote that stupid note. Kari, I know you're scared about what has been going on between Yolei and me, but it isn't your fault; it's mine. I just wanted Yolei to have an option, and it ended up turning bad. I'll let you know what happens each and every day. Yolei might be my girlfriend, but you will always be my best friend."
I nodded my head.
"Kari, promise me you won't tell Yolei anything I tell you."
I didn't say anything.
"Promise me Kari!" T.K. pressured.
"No," I softly said.
"What?"
"I can't T.K.! I'm through with promises. I can't keep them. I'll end up telling Yolei everything! You should know me by now. Promises are as bad as secrets; they hurt me. T.K., don't you remember the past year. I tried everything not to tell, but I told everything. I can't do it."
Tears started to form in T.K.'s eyes. "It's ok Kari; I understand."
"Oh, T.K., I didn't mean to make you…Cry," I whispered.
"It's not you Kari. It's everything but you. I'm just so stupid! Why did I even have to give Yolei that note? Why did I have to tell her it was ok if she broke up with me?"
"You're confusing Yolei. She thinks you want to break up with her because you want someone else. She's scared. Yolei is only for you."
"How do you know that?"
"The e-mail I got wasn't nothing…It was Yolei."
T.K. wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand. "Thank you for telling me that. I guess I should explain myself to her. Whatever I tell you, you can tell it to Yolei if you want to."
"Even though Davis is my boyfriend, you will always be my best friend," I whispered in his ear. "Just, nothing ever more."
"So, is that walk home offer still available?" T.K. asked me.
I smiled. "Of course T.K.!"
"Then, lets get going, we're going to be real late…And it's a school night!"
I took T.K.'s right hand and pulled him down the road.
"Hey! Ok, ok! I'm coming!" T.K. yelled as I pulled him all the way home.
We stopped at T.K.'s door.
"Good night T.K., I'll see you in school…And detention," I smiled as I started to walk away.
"Why did you have to remind me!" T.K. called out as he walked into his apartment.
I quickly walked to my own apartment. I opened the door. Tai and my mom were waiting for me.
"Kari, did you eat?" my mom asked.
"I ate before I left Ken's," I smiled.
I started to walk to the bedroom.
"Your school called," Tai quickly said.
I grabbed the detention slip out of my pocket and handed it to my mom.
"Why did you get detetion Kari?" my mom demanded.
"Because I was giving the teacher an attitude," I frowned.
"I want you home everyday after school…Right after detention."
"It's not my fault I got detetoin. Anyways, T.K. and Davis got detetion too! Mrs. Shing told Davis that he could have a second chance, but she didn't give it to him. The only reason Mrs. Shing hates me is because Tai is my brother!" I yelled.
Tai nervously laughed.
"Go to bed," my mom pointed at our bedroom door.
"Come on Kari," Tai pushed me into the room.
"Kari, you should have been home 30 minutes ago! What took you so long?" Tai questioned.
"T.K. and I started to talk, and I walked him home," I smiled.
"T.K. is a big boy…I think he could have gotten home by himself," Tai laughed.
I crossed my arms and sat on the bed. "I'm sorry Tai, I'll never be concerned for my friends ever again. I promise!"
"Concerned? What's wrong with T.K.?" Tai asked.
"Him and Yolei are fighting because T.K. told her that she could break up with him."
Tai sat next to me. "Why would he tell her that?"
"He thought she didn't want him anymore because she's in high school."
"Davis called me…He said that the Dark World is back."
I took off my glove and showed Tai the cut. "I'm having a bad start to this school year."
"Things will get better. It's my fault you got detention. Mrs. Shing didn't like me. I was a troublemaker. I got everyone in trouble…Including Izzy and Sora!"
"Tai…I'm scared," I whispered.
"Scared? Why?" Tai questioned.
"The Dark World, T.K. and Yolei, I don't know if I can go through it again," I told him.
"Kari, you're not going through it alone. You have all your friends by your side. You have a boyfriend, a huge group of friends, and a brother that would do anything for you."
"I have to get ready for bed," I grabbed my pajamas.
"Davis said he wanted to walk with you to school tomorrow…He said something that he needed to tell you. Are you guys fighting?"
"We had a fight, but it wasn't anything major…I promise," I walked out of the room.
I walked into the bathroom and quickly changed.
"Everything will be ok…Tai is right," I told myself.
I walked out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom.
"Kari, could you get the light?" Tai asked me when I got into the room.
"Sure," I turned off the light.
"I'll come and get you after detention is over. We'll talk more then," he told me.
"Ok," I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
"Time to get up!" my mom yelled.
"I'm up! What?" Tai yelled as he threw all of the covers off of him.
"Do you have to yell that every time Mom gets us up?" I asked him.
Tai climbed down from the top bunk. "It's a bad habit of mine…I'm sorry."
I walked over to the closet. "If you say so."
"Want me to pick you out an outfit?" Tai questioned.
"I'm 14, I can pick my own outfit," I laughed. I grabbed a pink dress.
"Not the pink dress…I'm sick of that pink dress! Please, pick something different!" he begged.
I pulled out a skirt and a baggy short sleeve shirt. "Better?"
"You have a skirt?" Tai asked as he took out his school uniform.
"Where have you been?"
Tai took out his soccer ball. "Want to play after school?"
"Mom said I had to come straight home after detention," I reminded him.
"Hey Mom!" Tai yelled.
Our mom opened the door. "What?"
"Do you think Kari and I could play some soccer before we come home?" Tai questioned.
"I told Kari that she needed to come home after detention," Mom remembered.
Tai frowned. "Please Mom? I won't ever asked for anything ever again. I never get a chance to hang out with my little sister anymore. I just want a chance to talk to her."
"Fine! You just have to be home before dark," she decided.
Tai jumped up and hugged our mom. "Thanks!"
She walked out of the room.
"You sure do know how to butter her up," I laughed.
Tai grabbed his soccer uniform. "I need some practice anyways. You can invite Davis if you want to…I'm ok with that."
"I'll talk to him," I smiled.
"Ok!"
I opened the door. "I need to change. Meet me outside…Bring my bag."
I walked into the bathroom.
"Today might be a good day," I brushed my hair.
I walked out of the bathroom and went back into the bedroom.
"I'll need my roller blades," I grabbed them out of the closet.
I ran out of the apartment.
"Hey Kari, your boyfriend is here!" Tai called to me.
I walked up to Tai and Davis.
"Do you have your blades?" Davis asked me.
I held them up. "Of course."
Tai smiled and started to laugh. "I'll leave you two love birds alone. Davis, don't forget that you can meet us at the soccer field if you want to play."
Davis put on his roller blades. "Ok, I'll be able."
"Your parents didn't care that you got detention?" I asked as I put on my roller blades.
"Of course they did…Of course they think you're a good role model for me, so they don't care if I hang out with you!"
Tai started to walk away. "He didn't tell them that you got detention, Kari."
I shook my head. "Come on Davis."
We quickly skated to our school.
"T.K.! Watch out!" I cried as I smacked into him. We fell; Davis fell on top of us.
"Oww," T.K. said.
Davis and I quickly got up.
"I'm sorry T.K., I'm not good at stopping," I smiled.
"Hurry and take the blades off, we have to get to class," Davis told me.
I took off the roller blades. "How did your mom take it T.K.?"
"Better than I thought. She wasn't that mad," he smiled.
We walked into the school and into our classroom.
"So, can you hang out after school? Tai and I were going to play soccer after I got out of detention, Davis was going to join us…We'll need a fourth person," I told T.K.
"I'm not that good at soccer," T.K. frowned.
"Come on T.K. it will be fun…Or is it because something else is bothing you?" Davis wondered.
"Nothing's bothering me. I'm fine, I'm just no good at the sport, it wouldn't be fair."
"How about you can watch Tai and me play, and you and Davis can play basketball. Basketball is your sport," I smiled.
"But that wouldn't be fair either…I'm better at that too!" Davis exclaimed.
"That's why my team won against yours last year," T.K. remembered.
"You had the better team," he smiled.
"You lie! Come on guys, the teacher is coming," I looked out the classroom door.
"We have 15 minutes until class starts, what she is going to do?" T.K. questioned.
Mrs. Shing walked into the classroom. "Take your seats."
"That means we can be in the hallway still, come on," Davis decided.
We walked to the door.
"Where are you going?" Mrs. Shing demanded.
"Bathroom," Davis quickly said.
"14 minutes until class starts…Make it quick!"
We walked out of the room.
"I don't think I'm going to be able to survive this year," I complained.
"If I have to be called Daisuke Motomiya all year long…I don't know what I'll do!" Davis agreed.
"There has got to be a worse teacher somewhere!" T.K. thought.
A boy walked out of the bathroom.
"That was random," Davis whispered in my ear. I whispered it in T.K.'s ear.
"What?" the boy demanded.
"We didn't say anything," T.K. quickly said.
"Right, you're just whispering about me in each others ear."
"What makes you think that?"
"You were whispering right when I came out of the bathroom!"
"And your point is?"
"I'm not liking your attitude. What, you're a 7th grader?"
"I'm in 8th grade!"
The boy scanned T.K. "You're short for a 14 year old."
"I'm not short!" T.K. yelled.
The boy started to laugh. "Stop it! You're killing me!"
T.K. didn't say anything.
"Oh, did I make the little baby speechless?" the boy asked.
"That's it!" T.K. raised his fist and started to swing.
"Stop!" I screamed.
"Are you going to listen to your little girlfriend? Go ahead and punch me!" the boy insisted.
"Excuse you? I am not his girlfriend! You have no right giving my friend an attitude. You think you're big and bad, but you're just a pathetic boy! Don't ever mess with my friends!" I yelled.
"What are you going to do? You're just as weak as your friend here."
I quickly punched him in the face. "Don't ever talk about my friends like that. You don't even know them."
"Hikari Kamiya!" Mrs. Shing shouted.
I was getting angry; Davis had to hold onto me to calm me down.
"What?" I crossly asked as I turned to face my teacher.
"All four of you, principal's office now!" Mrs. Shing told us.
"Gladly," I walked down the steps. Davis, T.K., and the other boy followed us.
We stepped into the principal's office.
"Are you the group Mrs. Shing sent?" he asked.
"Yep!" I cheerfully said.
"You seem happy about this," he told me.
"Oh no, not at all. I'm going to be in a lot of trouble with my mom, but right now…I don't care."
"Kari…Stop talking before you make it worse," Davis told me.
"Tell me your names," the pricnipal demanded.
"Hikari Kamiya," I quickly said.
"Daisuke Motomiya."
"Takeru Takaishi."
"Joshua Filmoshin, but call me Josh," the boy smiled.
"So, who wants to tell me what happened?" the principal asked.
"I will sir. You see, I was leaving the bathroom, and Takeru, I believe it is, started to talk trash about me. I was trying to defend myself when Hikari punches me," Josh lied.
"Liar!" Davis yelled. "You accused us of talking about you. You got in an argument with T.K., you were talking bad about him! Kari was defending herself because you were being a bully!"
"Is this true?" the principal wondered.
Josh nervously laughed. "Kind of."
The principal stood up. "Hikari, hitting was not the answer."
"Let me guess, detention for another week? Or do I get an in school?" I questioned.
"I was going to let you off the hook since it is the second day of school, and Josh has a record of fighting. Get to class."
T.K., Davis, and I quickly walked out of the room, Josh followed us.
"Hey wait up for a second!" Josh called out to us.
I turned to him. "I'm sorry I hit you. I haven't been having a good start to this school year. I already got detention for giving my teacher an attitude."
"That's not what I wanted to hear. Are you related to Tai?"
"Yeah, he's my brother. Why?"
"I was in soccer club with him last year, I didn't stay in it. He got hit by a car, I didn't want that to happen to me, so I quit."
"Everyone in soccer club knew that. Even the new members do!" Davis smiled.
We stopped when we got to the classroom door.
"Who is your teacher Josh?" T.K. asked.
"The one and only Mrs. Shing. Terrible shame, isn't it?" Josh snickered.
"Welcome to our world!" I laughed.
We opened the door and walked in.
"I'm glad you decided to join us today," Mrs. Shing told us.
We quickly sat in our seats.
"Who would like to tell Daisuke, Hikari, Takeru, and Joshua what they missed?" Mrs. Shing asked the class.
Al shot up her arm.
"Al, go ahead."
"We were talking about t the classroom rule. Also, you were telling us about what we would be doing this year," Al smiled.
"Thank you Al. Now, we need to get partnered up for a project we'll be doing. I'll let you pick your partners, but make a wise choice."
Everyone stood up.
"Excuse me, you're Hikari, right?" a boy asked me.
"Call me Kari," I smiled.
"Will you be my partner? My name is Mike," he said.
"Uh, I'm not that sure," I was puzzled.
"She's not going to be partners with a nerd like you. Hello Kari, I'm James. I would be honored if you would be my partner."
I hesitated.
"No, please, be my partner. My name is Jake. I would love to be partners with the prettiest girl in the classroom."
"Hold that thought. Davis! Help!" I yelled.
"Excuse me, boyfriend coming through!" I heard Davis shout. He pushed through the crowd and reached me. He smiled.
"Want to be my partner?" I questioned.
"Sure Kari! I would love to!" Davis laughed.
"Where is T.K.?" I asked.
"I think he's going to be partners with Al," Davis said.
I saw Josh walk by us. "Hey Josh! Go ask Al if she'll be your partner."
"I already have a partner," Josh told me.
"Who?" I wondered.
"T.K., I wanted to get to be friends with him after what happened."
"Thank you," I sighed.
I saw Al talking to Mrs. Shing.
"Class, who doesn't have a partner?" Mrs. Shing asked. No one raised their hand.
Mrs. Shing started to talk to Al.
"I wonder what is going on," I whispered to Davis.
"Who will let Al join their group?" Mrs. Shing questioned.
"We will Mrs. Shing," my hand shot up.
Al walked over to us. "Are you sure that's ok with Davis?"
I looked at Davis. "It's ok, right Davis?"
"Of course!" Davis smiled.
He understood that I didn't want Al working with T.K. and Josh.
"Ok, our project is a biography. In your pairs, you will learn more about that person and present a biography of him or her next Monday," Mrs. Shing explained.
"Who's going to do who?" Al asked us.
"You can do the biography on me, Davis will do you, and I'll do Davis," I decided.
"No fair! You get me, which will be really easy because you already know me!" Davis protested.
"She'll just have to learn more," Al smiled.
"Start to get to know your partner and write down note…Begin!" Mrs. Shing instructed.
"Ok Kari, give me some information to work with," Al told me.
"I have a brother, Tai Kamiya. I'm 14 years old. I like taking pictures with my digital camera…I always carry it around with me. I live with my mom, dad, and brother. My best friend is T.K. Takaishi. My boyfriend is Davis Motomiya. I play soccer with Tai and Davis all the time. I have a friend named Willis who lives in America. I think that's it for now," I smiled.
"What about you Al, I need some information," Davis said.
"Ok, let me think. My name is Al Amber. I have a brother, Danny Lee. I'm 14 years old. I live with my mom and I just moved here. My brother lives with my dad. We don't live together. I don't have a boyfriend. I don't have many friends at all. That's all I can really think of," Al explained.
"Your turn Davis," I laughed.
"I'm 14 years old and in the 8th grade. My full name is Daisuke Motomiya, but I go by Davis. I live with my mom, dad, and my very annoying sister, June. My best friend is Ken Ichijouji…He doesn't go to this school. My girlfriend is Hikari Kamiya, but I just call her Kari. When I grow up I want to own a noodle stand. Last year I broke a window when I was playing soccer indoors…In the school. The worse memory I have is when I heard Tai scream after he got hit by the car last year. Also, whenever I see Kari cry, those are also bad memories. I'm in soccer club, and I'm on the soccer team. Oh, I'm also on the basketball team! I like to hang out with my friends and have a good time with them. I also enjoy playing soccer. And my favorite qoute is 'I love you Davis', Kari Kamiya," Davis blushed.
"Wow…Ok, did you get all of that Kari?" Al questioned me.
"Sadly…I already knew all of that," I frowned.
"Kari never mentioned that she wanted to be a teacher when she grows up," Davis remembered.
"You want to be a teacher? That's really cool," Al thought.
"I forgot about that…Sorry," I blushed.
"Class is dismissed!" Mrs. Shing announced.
"We'll talk more tomorrow," I told Al as I walked over to T.K.
"Hey Kari," T.K. smiled.
"Hello boys," I smirked.
"How is your biography going?" Josh asked.
"It's pretty easy…I'm doing my boyfriend…How hard can that be?" I said.
"Boyfriend…You're with Al and Davis…That means…Davis is your boyfriend!"
"He's a real sweet guy once you get to know him."
"And after you've kissed him about a million times. Those places include in a tree, out in the hall, at her apartment, at Yolei's apartment, at Ken's apartment…My apartment! Need I go on?" T.K. laughed.
"Oh, you should have never started," I softly said.
"Where's Davis anyways?"
"Uh…Probably going to detention! Where we should be!"
"See you guys later!" Josh yelled as I pulled T.K. out of the classroom.
We stopped at the detention room's door. Davis was waiting there.
"Who wants to go first?" I asked.
Davis put his hand on the doorknob. "It can't be that bad."
We slowly walked in.
"Hello, I'm Mr. Jones. I'll take your detetion slips," he smiled.
We handed him our slips.
"Ok, Hikari, Daisuke, and Takeru, take any seat. There is no talking allowed. Busy yourself with something else."
We walked over to three empty desks.
"I'm going to step out for a few minutes…I should be back in 30 minutes!" the teacher left.
"Welcome new comers," a boy grinned.
We nervously laughed.
"I'm Greg…What are your names and what are you guys in for?"
"Hi, I'm Kari. I'm here because my teacher is a jerk…And I might have given her an attitude. Oh, and I was running in the hall," I smiled.
"T.K. is my name. I'm here for running in the hall, talking back at the teacher, and because my teacher likes to make us suffer," T.K. explained.
"Davis Motomiya, first time in detention, but long time troublemaker. I was talking when the teacher was talking," Davis said.
"Well…Welcome to detention. Mr. Jones always leaves for a half an hour, so we kind of take over the place. Don't worry, we never get in trouble for it," Greg smiled.
Davis and T.K. looked at me.
I took out a notebook. "If you guys want to hang with them, I can't stop you. I just have other things I want to do."
"We'll pass this time," Davis decided.
"Ok," Greg walked away from us.
"You guys can go and have some fun. Please, don't let me hold you back," I smiled.
"We're not letting you stay by yourself," T.K. said.
"Why?"
"Do you see any other girls in this room?"
"No."
"Well, I don't want any of these boys doing anything to you. You can't trust any of them," Davis explained to me.
"Oh, you want to protect me, how cute," I laughed.
"You think this is funny?" T.K. demanded.
"Yeah, maybe a little," I nodded my head.
"Kari, protecting you isn't funny. Now, I'll show you funny," Davis pulled down his goggles and took T.K.'s hat and put it on. "See, this is funny."
T.K. took his hat back. "Yes, that is very funny Davis."
"Since when did you lose your sense of humor?"
"I didn't lose my sense of humor…I just don't find it funny!"
"Lately, you've been too serious. Is it the thing with Yolei?"
"Kari, you told him?"
"What? I didn't say anything to him," I was shocked.
"Dude, don't blame Kari. Yolei told me yesterday when we were looking for Cody," Davis corrected him.
"Oh, sorry…I guess I have been a little tense," T.K. frowned.
Greg walked over to us.
"Mr. Jones is going to be coming back in a minute. Act natural," Greg told us.
"Does that mean detention is almost over?" I asked.
"Yep," he nodded.
Mr. Jones walked in. "You may leave now."
Davis, T.K., and I got up and walked out.
"You guys still up for that soccer?" I asked.
"After detention, anything active would be fun," T.K. smiled.
We quickly walked over to the soccer field.
I saw Tai talking to someone. "Hey Tai!"
Tai walked up to me and smiled.
"Who's that?" I questioned.
"She's your friend," Tai rolled his eyes.
"Huh?"
"It's Yolei, isn't it?" T.K. demanded.
"You say that as if it's a bad thing," Tai noticed.
"Tai, I have some new soccer trick I want to show you," Davis quickly pulled him away.
"I can't do it Kari; I can't talk to her. I'm too scared. I'm going to go over by Tai and Davis. Give Yolei this note," T.K. handed me a piece of paper.
"T.K., sooner or later you're going to have to face your fear and tell Yolei how you feel," I said.
"I did Kari, it's all in that note," he walked away.
I walked over to Yolei.
"What's T.K. doing here? Tai said it was going to only be you and Davis," Yolei told me.
"I invited him…I didn't know you were going to be here," I handed her the note.
"What's this?" she asked.
"It's from T.K.," I informed her.
She opened the note and quickly read it. "He didn't mean it."
"Are you going to be ok?" I questioned.
"Read it," Yolei handed me the paper.
To My Sweet Yolei,
I didn't mean to scare you with the first note that was given. I don't want another girl; I just want to make you happy. I felt like you didn't want me. I thought I wasn't good enough. My words turned out wrong. Now we're in a fight. I only want you, but I don't deserve your love. If you want to keep me, I'll think it's a mistake. I don't want to leave you. I just thought you would want someone older. Someone more mature. Someone that wasn't me. Someone that really deserved your love. A friend told me that I was the only one for you. That my words were confusing. I found out I was making a mistake. I should have never told you that you could break up with me. I just thought you deserved the option.
Love,
Takeru "T.K." Takaishi
"That's sweet," I smiled.
"You told him how I felt. Thank you Kari," Yolei softly said.
I pointed at T.K. "Don't just stand here! Go get your man!"
Yolei looked at T.K., then at me. "You're coming too." She dragged me over to where T.K., Davis, and Tai were.
